Discipleship Series Part 3: It is time to seek the Lord Tim Barlow, 6th February 2011

Joe asks Tim a few questions about the life-transforming power of the Bible Q. Are we taking God’s Word seriously enough? I fear not. Most of us here would say we believe that in this book we have the words of the living God. But I wonder whether we take it seriously enough for it to actually shape our lives. Now part of that responsibility rests with us preachers. We have not always delivered the Word with the passion and urgency and a life-changing relevance that it deserves. Q. So what questions should we ask if that Word is to change our lives? I think there are 3 key questions to be asked if God’s Word is to shape our lives. 1. Is it true? I don’t mean ‘did it happen?’ I mean - am I facing up to the truth, the truth about God and the truth about me? Am I acknowledging the demands of the living God? Have I understood what God says about the way I am living and his attitude towards me? Do I handle the Bible in a way that truly represents God or am I misrepresenting Him? Do I let God’s Word reveal the lies I prefer to believe? Do I allow it to expose the idols I constantly bow to? Remember - sinful minds always want to run away from the truth. The first question is about truth, the real objective truth. But we don’t stop there. 2. Does it work? This is the relevance question. Does it work or is Christianity just another word-game, just another set of ideas tied, as some would suggest, to a patriarchal, dominating and backward-looking set of values? To that we want to say an emphatic ‘No!’ God is real! He is the living God who is not being left behind by tomorrow’s headlines. It’s our job to show the direct relevance of God’s Word to people’s everyday lives. We have to move on from the truth question to the real life application. We must address the practical matters of life and heart where believing and obeying God’s Word make an observable difference in a believer’s life. We are called to stand out – to follow God in faith.

We have to present with unmissable and unembarrassed clarity what disobedience, repentance and obedience look like. The congregation may go home humbled, angry, resentful, or repentant but they should never go home unclear about what God wants us to do! 3. Is it real The third question we must ask is – Is it real? So when we promise that people will encounter the living God, we must ask ourselves - will they? Or is it make-believe? People are certainly keen to experience some kind of spiritual reality. We see all the evidence around us – psychic fairs, articles on the soul etc. But people think that is as real as it gets – and certainly every bit as real as anything we get up to! The Israelites in the Old Testament played at spirituality too but, as one of their prophets declared: ‘Your love is l ike the morning mist, l ike the early dew that disappears’ (Hosea 6:4). It wasn’t real. They applied religious plasters to their sores and pretended all was well. They ignored the fact that God is real, really real – not an invisible friend or a comforting myth to believe on a dark night – but real. His fierce and passionate love is real – so is his anger, his judgment and his warnings. These are supposed to engage and affect us – to prompt a response. Q. So what kind of response do you have in mind? I think those three questions relate in some way to the work of Christ as famously described by Calvin - as Prophet, King and Priest –

• The prophet brings his Word. We must receive his Word. It is true. • The king brings his reign. We must submit to his reign. It works. • The Priest brings his presence. We are able to enjoy his presence. It is real.

That is the response God wants – receiving, submitting and then enjoying. So many don’t enjoy God because they have not learned to submit to his rule in their lives. I think one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible is Matthew 28:18-20 – the Great Commission where Jesus tells us to go into the world and make disciples. He tells us how to do it. We are to baptize them and teach them. So what are we to teach? Most people imagine that we are to teach facts, theology, doctrines. He actually tells us to teach everyone to obey all his commands. We are to teach obedience. True disciples are not the people who believe the right things. They are the people who obey the commands of their Lord and Saviour. In public and in private, in word and in thought, we are to live an obedient life. We allow the principles of God’s Word to direct our decisions and so shape our lives – whatever the consequences. Q. Have you sensed that God has a specific word for us today? Over this last week or so I have been particularly impacted by the message of the Old Testament prophet Hosea. Hosea was a bit like a journalist embedded in a war zone. He was speaking as a daily observer of Israel’s unfaithfulness and corruption. The disasters predicted by Amos were beginning to happen. His message is clear and simple - “Come back to the God who still loves you.”

Hosea 10:12 “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love… for it is time to seek the Lord.” It is time – this is God’s moment to seek him afresh. As we seek the Lord – supremely through his Word – we sow righteousness – we reap the fruit of unfailing love and our lives are transformed Then in chapter 11 there is a beautiful picture of God as a father teaching Israel to walk, healing them when they fall and hurt themselves. Or he is like the driver of a cart who goes to the animal’s head as it toils up a hill, speaking words of encouragement and easing the yoke when it chafes. This is the real God. The question is: Do we glimpse the outrage we do to his love? Chapter 14 is the chapter for every backslider with its message - ‘Come home to the Lord. I will heal their unfaithfulness. ’ Hosea challenges Israel’s religious superficiality and actually gives them words they are to use in confession, words that represent deep personal change. Then we learn that God’s response will be to bless them, nourishing, sustaining and answering them. They will have a living relationship with the living God. The final verse of the book reminds us that ultimately there are only two ways you can live but ‘The ways of the Lord are right’ . Q. So what is the real issue here? Hosea 4:6 gets to the heart of the matter - ‘My people are doomed because they do not really know me.’ That, I believe, is the real issue. If we really knew God – his faithfulness, his steadfast love, his patient mercy, his amazing forgiveness, his terrifying holiness – then we would live differently – we would not offend his love the way we do. It is when we are most ignorant of God’s true character that we are least ashamed of our rebellion and disobedience. Q. How do we offend his love and how do we come home to the Lord? That reminds me of the question in Malachi 3 when the Israelites ask – ‘How are we to return? ’ And God says there is a problem. They cannot return to him while they are robbing him! ‘How are we robbing you?’ they ask. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse ….. and see if I do not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing …’ I could have focussed on any number of lifestyle issues that are a challenge for us living in the modern world – they are nearly all linked to money, sex or power! But in the light of our current financial situation let me conclude by putting the spotlight on our attitude to money. I think the issue of giving ties in with what you were saying two weeks ago about that transition from servant to friend. We start with straightforward obedience and only later are we motivated by love. I am so grateful that I was taught to tithe as a student. I did it because I knew it was the right thing. Now I cannot imagine not tithing out of love. Indeed, I cannot afford not to tithe. If the principle of tithing – of giving back cheerfully and regularly a proportion of what the Lord gives us – were part of the DNA of our church we would not be facing the current challenge. We would experience the floodgates of heaven being opened so that we could do so much more to bless the community.

Q. Can you give us an example? Last November we became aware that Werneth School was trying to raise money to enable a group of students to go on a cultural trip to Morocco. The school was hoping we might donate a prize for their raffle. So imagine their surprise when we told them that the PCC wanted to sponsor a student and give £645. They were blown away! St Chad’s got a special mention in the school newsletter and one student and her family were blessed. In fact, so were we! It makes you feel good when you can be generous and bless people. We are just giving the world a tiny glimpse of what our wonderful, generous God is like. Q. So what do you think God wants us to do? Again, it’s back to the issue of knowing the real God. That knowledge isn’t a static possession. It must always be a dynamic advance. So I want to encourage everyone to grow in that knowledge. That means engaging seriously with God’s Word and allowing it to shape every aspect of our lives. I would like to challenge you to embark on a journey through the Bible in 100 readings using a new resource called ‘Essential 100’. It’s available at the back of church and in the bookshop. God’s Word won’t shape our lives if we are not reading it! As we read it we will want to live lives that are much more in tune with God. Learning to give is one of the most obvious areas in which to do this. So please read carefully the letter we are sending you and pray about your personal response.